Improvement in cradles and cribs



L. ATWOOD.

CRADLE AND CRIB.

No 185 848 Patented Jan. 2, 1877.

N. PETERS. PHDTO-LITHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT QEEroE,

LORING ATWOOD, OF RUTLAND, VERMONT, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND WILLIAM C. FRENCH, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN CRADLES AND CRIBS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No- IS5.S4S, dated January 2, 1877; application filed November 13, 1876.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LORING ATWooD, of Rutland, of the county of Rutland and State of Vermont, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Orib or Cradle Heads; and do hereby declare the same to be fully described in the following specification and represented in the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure 1 is a side view, Fig. 2 an edge elevation, and Fig. 3 a horizontal section, of a cradle-head embracing my invention, a cribhead being like the cradle-head in all respects except in having a rocker to its legs.

Heretofore, in making the crib or cradle head, it has been customary to connect the horizontal cross-bar with the flanks or legpieces by tenons on the ends of the bar, and mortises in the legs. This not only weakened the legs, but rendered the arch, when composed of two or more pieces of wood joined together at their abutting ends, liable to be broken by the springing of the legs apart far enough for insertion of the tenons in the mortises. To avoid this danger of breakage, the arch and legs have been made in one piece of wood bent around to the necessary form.

For several reasons, it is often more convenient, or cheaper, or desirable to compose the arch and legs of separate pieces of woodthat is, of one crown-piece and two flankpieces, as shown in the accompanying drawings.

In carrying out my invention, I form each of the flank-pieces A A, whether it be in one piece with the crown-piece B, or they be in separate pieces, connected at their abutting ends, by suitable means, as dovetails, for instance, with a groove, a, in it at its inner edge, such groove being dovetailed in transverse section and in the leg part b, and to open downward at its lower end, its upper end being closed, andl make the cross or connection bar 0 with dovetails b b at its ends, to fit to such grooves.

The legs, by standing obliquely to one another, or being curved outwardly, as shown, admit of the dovetails of the cross-bar being inserted in the grooves at their lower ends, in order for the bar to be forced upward to, or nearly to, the upper termini of the grooves, and against the vertical slats E E E, so as to cause them to readily enter the mortises in the bar for their reception. To hold the bar in place, glue is to be used in the dovetails and in the mortises for reception of the slats.

With the dovetailed grooves formed in the flank-pieces or their leg portions, (see Fig. 4, which is an inner edge view of one of the flank-pieces, also Fig. 5, which is a vertical section of such fiank-piece,) and with the crossbar provided with dovetails or dovetail tenons, to enter and fit such grooves, it will readily be seen that not only will there be no necessity of springing the flank-pieces apart to get the bar into place, but it can be set closely up to the slats, in order to tighten them in position to the best advantage.

After the cross-bar C may have been fixed in the grooves, I usually insert and glue in each of them, where below the bar, a fillingpiece or tongue of suitable size, or I otherwise properly finish the inner edge of each leg.

Iclaim- The crib or cradle head, substantially as described, having the legs of its flank-pieces A A provided with dovetailed grooves a a, arranged in them, as specified, and their connection-bar 0, provided with dovetailed tenons b b, to enter and fit to such grooves, all being essentially as set forth.

' LORING ATWOOD. Witnesses:

E. O. TUTTLE, V. W. WHITcoMB. 

